Band of Brothers: The relay team "Let Me Catch My Breath" show off their completion medals. They are, standing from left, Matthew Hood, Pierre Konja, Timothy Wezner, Sean Bonner and, kneeling, Andrew Seba.

Fr. Michael Byrnes had planned to compete in the Detroit Free Press Marathon anyway. Sacred Heart's vice rector was a veteran of eighteen marathons, and he was looking forward to running in the October 17 event.

Then an idea struck: Why not invite the seminarians to participate? This could be a bonding opportunity, "to build up camaraderie, to celebrate one another's achievements, to inspire teamwork," thought Father Byrnes.

But would the seminarians respond?

Father Byrnes proposed the idea in January 2010, and surprisingly sixty enthusiastic seminarians showed up at a discussion meeting. Father suggested training options to prepare the men for the strenuous choices: the twenty-six mile marathon, half marathon, five kilometer run and marathon relay.

The seminarians immediately threw themselves into training, huffing and puffing through the Boston Edison historic district, up and down Woodward Avenue, and round and round Belle Isle. "Neighbors asked us if we were training for the army," laughs Robert Bacik (Lansing).

Faculty members Fr. Todd Lajiness, Fr. Steven Burr and Fr. Richard Cassidy, along with Vocations Director Fr. Tim Birney and formation team member Fr. Tony Richter, decided to join the seminarians in the competition. When Francis King learned of the event, he organized a relay team of fellow commuter students.

Another brainstorm struck, to Tamra Fromm, the Institute for Ministry's director of admissions. Why not have the participants solicit pledges to raise funds for a badly needed running track on the seminary grounds? Sacred Heart's development office created pledge materials and ordered t-shirts with the seminary logo. The back of the shirts featured a passage from Matthew 4:19—"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men"—as a witness to the seminary's Christian identity.

On the morning of the race, "the energy level of the guys was sky high," recalls Father Byrnes. Charles Russell (Detroit), who ran in one of the ten six-man relay teams, admits, "I have never considered running to be 'fun.'" Nonetheless, he was inspired by fellow seminarians at the relay stations cheering him on with "You can do it!' and "You're almost there!"

"It made all the difference in the world," says Charles. "Even the announcer was calling my name!"

"When I started training, I couldn't run one mile without resting," says Bacik, who ran the half marathon. "Setting the marathon goal has motivated me to make exercise a fixture in my life." Aaron Bellisle (Marquette) says, "Representing Sacred Heart to the city was a great privilege."

"Boyea's Boys," the relay team of seminarians from the Diocese of Lansing, won first place in the University Division.

"I was thrilled how the marathon accomplished the things I was hoping for," concludes Father Byrnes. "Sharing medals, taking pictures, rooting for each other, and the visual witness to the crowd was a great experience, too."

Another great experience is how the seminary community, and the runners' friends and family, responded with pledges. An amazing $10,202 was earned for the running track fund.